Title: Burned By the Sun
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Michael Cutter
Fandom: Doctor Who/Law & Order
Rating: PG-13
Table: 100_tales
Prompt: 5, Sun
Author's Note: Spoilers for the Doctor Who episode 42.
Warning: ongoing story, past non-con
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Michael Cutter, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

Mike squinted up at the sun, raising a hand to shade his eyes. This sun didn't seem quite as bright as the one he was used to on Earth, but the Doctor had cautioned him that its rays were just as potent. Maybe that was because of its color.

He'd never seen a bright red sun before -- but then, he'd never seen a lot of the sights that had been before his eyes since he'd begun traveling the galaxy with the Doctor. The Time Lord had opened his eyes to all of the possibilities in the universe.

In the past few weeks, he'd seen places that he would have never known existed if he hadn't met this man. He'd thoght that he had an interesting life when he was on Earth -- but it was nothing compared to the life he was leading now.

And it had all been due to falling in love with an extraordinary man, Mike thought to himself, a slight smile curving his lips. This hadn't been the plan he'd had for his life, but all of the changes to that plan had been for the better.

Glancing over at the Doctor, he was surprised to find that the other man was looking up at the sun with an expression of trepidation on his face. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn that the Doctor almost looked .... afraid.

"Sweetheart?" Mike moved closer to the Time Lord, sliding an arm around the other man's slim waist and pulling the Doctor close against him. "Is something wrong? You look like you're ready to run away from the sun."

The Doctor's dark eyes widened as his gaze fell on Mike; it was obvious that his thoughts had been far away from the present. He shook his head, trying to smile but having a hard time doing so. "I was just .... thinking about a bad situation I was in not too long ago."

"And what would that be?" Michael's arm tightened around the Doctor's waist; whatever was bothering his lover, he wanted to know about it, so that he could do his best to protect him from anything that might cause him any kind of pain.

"Once ...." A shiver went through the Doctor's body; Michael leaned against him, wanting to comfort his lover as much as he could, and hoping that the Time Lord would continue. ".... there was a living sun inside of me," he finished, his words barely audible.

"What?" Mike was startled by those words; they certainly weren't what he'd expected to hear. "How did you survive that? Weren't your inner organs .... well, burnt to a crisp?" He couldn't repress a shudder at the thought of being burned from the inside out.

The Doctor sighed softly, his words coming out slowly and hesitantly. "I don't know why they weren't -- I suppose because the entity knew how to control that. But I couldn't open my eyes. If I did, I'd incinerate anyone I happened to look at. It was horrible."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Mike said softly, tilting the Doctor's face up to his and brushing a gentle kiss across the softness of his mouth. "But that isn't going to happen again, sweetheart. You don't have to be afraid of the sun."

"I'm not. Not really," the Doctor said, glancing up at the red sun blazing in the sky above them. "But I can't help remembering that time whenever I look at the sun. It's not something I like to remember, but experiences like that are imprinted on a person's memory forever."

"I can understand that," Mike murmured, wondering if the Doctor would voluntarily finish the story of what had happened to him. "How did you manage to get the living sun out of you?" he asked, hoping his question wouldn't upset the Doctor.

"We tried to get it out by freezing it," the Doctor whispered, speaking slowly, as though lost in thought. "It was the only choice, I thought. Fortunately, it left of its own accord. If it hadn't, my body wouldn't have survived for much longer."

Michael shuddered, turning towards the Doctor and wrapping both arms tightly around his waist. "I'm glad it left," he whispered into the Time Lord's ear. "Because I can't imagine my life without you. You're the sun in my sky, John. My light."

"Don't get too close to the sun," the Doctor said with a shaky laugh. "You might get burned. I know that from bitter experience." He rested his head against Mike's shoulder, sighing softly. "That was one of the worst things I've ever been through."

"I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like," Michael whispered, wishing that he could go back in time and change that horrible experience so that his lover wouldn't have had to live through it. "I wish it hadn't happened."

"Ah, I suppose the old saying is true -- that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." The Doctor's voice was quiet, the shakiness gone from his tone. "But it's still not something I like remembering, or that I would ever want to live through again."

"You won't have to," Mike assured him, though he knew that his words were empty. It could happen again; one thing that he'd learned through his travels with the Doctor was that there were no absolute impossibilities. At least he didn't think there were.

"You never know, Mike." The Doctor sighed again before lifting his head from Michael's shoulder and smiling at his lover. "But there are very slim odds that it could happen to me twice. So I'm not going to brood about it any longer."

"You know, sometimes I think I could get burned by the sun from being so close to you," Mike teased. "You're a brilliant man, John, more brilliant than the sun. And you know you're the center of my world. I should be careful not to get burned."

"I'd never burn you, love." The Doctor raised a hand to Michael's face, stroking his fingertips down the other man's cheek. "You may think I shine brightly, but there are times when I'm obscured by clouds. You just haven't seen the bad side yet."

"I think I'd be afraid to see the clouds," Mike mused, wondering inwardly what the Doctor's wrath would be like when it burst its boundaries. "I think your anger would burn even more brightly. Anyone who's on the wrong side of your vengeance would get burnt to a cinder."

"They would -- and they have," the Doctor said quietly, shaking his head. "That's not something I want you to see, Mike -- but you probably will, in time. I'm not the kind of man who gives second chances. I've proven that in the past."

"I'm prepared to see that side of you," Mike told him, though he felt a bit shaken by the Doctor's words. It was hard for him to imagine his lover exacting vengeance on anyone -- though he had no doubt that when he did, that vengeance would fall swiftly and heavily.

"Don't be so sure of that." The Doctor's tone was wry; he sighed softly, shrugging. "But you're bound to see it sooner or later. I just hope you are prepared -- and that seeing it doesn't make you pull away from me."

"I'd rather be burnt to ashes than pull away from you," Mike said softly, his gaze meeting the Doctor's. "Nothing is ever going to take me away from you, John. I think I've already proven that. I'm here for the long run, even if I do get a little singed."

"I'll try my best to keep you out of burn range," the Doctor told him, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. When that dark side comes out, it's not directed at those I love. Only at anyone trying to hurt the ones I love."

"That's good to know," Mike murmured, pulling the Doctor close and bowing his head to press a kiss to the Doctor's parted lips. Privately, he couldn't help thinking that there were worse ways to go than being burned by the brightness of the man he adored -- but he wouldn't want to find out.

***